A business owner might not realise it, but after paying for the salaries of employees and the rent on an office space, one of the biggest costs that remains is the electricity.
Businesses use a vast amount of electricity to operate. They need to have lighting, computers, printers, servers, coffee machines, tea kettles, microwaves, refrigerators, fax machines, scanners and more. And for some businesses, a dry cleaning company for instance, or a bakery, then they have even more electricity costs to incur from operating tumble dryers and ovens.
So, what can a business do in order to cut down on these energy costs, and will they actually make a difference? Well, the answer to the later part of the question is yes, it will certainly make a difference. If a business makes a real effort to practice using energy saving techniques, then they could realise savings of at least a few hundred pounds per year per office. That will absolutely add up to quite a bit of savings over the course of the life of the business.
-Shop around
One of the first things a business can do to cut down on its electricity costs is to shop around for a service provider that has discounted rates, but is still going to provide value in terms of service. Many do not realise that they have the ability to actually change electric companies, and end up staying with one company that could be either over charging or providing terrible service, both of which ending up costing the business quite a lot of time and money.
By checking the kilowatt hour rates of a variety of companies, a business will then be able to determine which provides the best rate. In addition to that, it is very important that any electric company is reliable. Today’s businesses are heavily reliant on technology, which of course is run by electricity, for a firm to have its electricity to be down will certainly mean that work for that day is not being accomplished, costing thousands of pounds.
Once a business has determined if they are going to stay with the electric company they are currently under contract with or if they are going to switch to a new company, then they can start looking at steps that can be taken within the company to save money.
-Computer usage
Three of the biggest sources of electricity within a business include office equipment and computer usage, lighting, and temperature control. It is within these three areas that most business owners are going to look to make changes in order to conserve energy and thus save some money from that conservation.
The number one way to save money and lower electricity costs on office equipment and computer usage is to turn off the equipment at night. By leaving the companies electronic equipment on all day and all night, it can incur up to three times the costs rather than keeping the equipment on just during the day. Making a policy that computers, printers, faxes and copiers must be turned off nightly will end up saving the company a substantial amount of money each year.
-Power saving mode
Coupled with this, another way to save electricity is to also set your equipment into power saving mode during the day. If a printer is not being utilised frequently, have it set to go to sleep after five or ten minutes of no activity, the same can be done for copiers and computer monitors. While the savings won’t be as substantial as if the equipment was shut off, it will still result in savings, nonetheless.
-Lighting
After computers and other office equipment, another large drain on electricity is lighting. Now, many businesses have installed sensors in their lighting, which will remain off most of the time, but if someone enters an area, the lights will go on. Just as with power saving, the savings of electricity will add up. Employees who have offices with windows might also be encouraged to keep their lights off during the day if the windows provide enough light to see properly.
Another huge savings for businesses can be achieved by replacing all of the old bulbs in the office with energy saving bulbs. While these bulbs are typically more expensive than traditional bulbs, they last up to ten times longer and are far more efficient which will certainly add up over time. This is especially true in a large office with hundreds bulbs.
-Temperature
Finally, making small changes to temperature control will also help a business that is looking to save electricity costs over the long run. Having a central thermostat system that can be programed based on the outside temperature and the season will make a dramatic impact on energy costs throughout the building. This will prevent from any handful of employees from running their heating or air conditioning at high levels which are increasing energy costs.
Another tip would be to set the thermostat to increase or decrease its temperature setting during the day. Once the last employee leaves for the night, have the thermostat cool down, or even turn off completely. The building will still retain heated or cooled air over the course of the night, and then the thermostat can be set to increase either hot or cold air an hour or two before employees start to arrive.
There are a number of steps any business can take in order to control its electricity costs. But above are just a few simple tips, which when applied, will end up saving any business hundreds of pounds a year.
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This article has been provided by Business Electric, a firm that is dedicated to helping reduce business electricity and gas costs in your own organization. To find out more about the pricing and services that they offer, please check www.businesselectric.com.